Women’s Tour Down Under 2020 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

January 18, 2020

Women’s Tour Down Under 2020 – Stage 3 – Nairne – Stirling : 109,1 km

The Women’s Tour Down Under continues to go from strength to strength, and this year enjoys categorisation as part of the UCI’s new ProSeries. It’s a well-run and well-supported event, headed up by director Kimberley Conte, and attracting plenty of fan support and media coverage.

US national champion (Trek-Segafredo) is threatening to break domination of the after taking the third stage uphill sprint win ahead of Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb) and Lauren Stephens (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank).

The stage winner’s ten-second time bonus put Winder in the leaders ochre jersey, after former leader and three-time winner Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) finished the stage in tenth place. Lippert and Spratt are now both sitting seven seconds back from Winder in the overall. Stage 1 winner and Australian criterium champion Chloe Hosking (Rally Cycling), who went deep and came an impressive fifth on the hilly stage 3, is next on the GC at 30 seconds behind Winder.

It is a small margin and there are nineteen seconds of time bonuses up for grabs during Sunday’s final criterium stage but it is going to be a big task for anyone to now take the jersey from Winder.

“I’ll have to put some sprinter legs on,” said Winder after the stage. “We also have Lotta (Henttala) who is a super fast sprinter, she got second on the first stage, and we will be looking to see if we can get her on the podium again.”

If Winder can hold onto the lead, it’ll be the first time in the five years that Mitchelton-Scott hasn’t taken the win in the Women’s Tour Down Under.

The Australian team fought hard to defend the four-second lead that three-time winner Spratt had carved out on Friday but the constant attacks took a toll, leaving the Australian rider with little support in the finale and in a less than ideal position in the sprint to the line.

“It all came down to that final sprint. I was a little too far back a couple of kilometres out and I used a bit of energy to get up but even so, you saw how punchy Ruth was at the finish,” said Spratt, graceful in defeat.

“She had a really incredible ride and sometimes you also have to realise when someone’s had a really great ride. My legs just kind of exploded. I finished totally empty so I couldn’t have done anything more.”

How it unfolded

The riders knew they were in for a tough day out on the bike as they rolled out from historic township of Nairne in the Adelaide hills for the final road race stage of the four-day race.

Given the ochre jersey was at stake and the final 50 kilometres of the course were an unrelenting series of climbs and descents, including some dirt roads, the stage was always going to be action packed.

It didn’t take long before the attacks started flying out of the peloton. There were some unsuccessful digs before a break of five launched and soaked up the sprint points at 22.8 kilometres down, with Anna Louise Henderson (Team Sunweb) taking first. Then there was a break of six, including stage one’s third placed rider Matilda Raynolds (Specialized Women’s Racing), which stretched out the gap to nearly two minutes. However after the peloton went through the one kilometre long gravel section, it too was swept up.

The attacks continued but they were constantly reeled in, with Mitchelton-Scott attentive and working hard on the front to try and help deliver Spratt one step closer to a fourth consecutive title. It also quickly became clear that Trek-Segafredo were doing their utmost to stop that happening.

“The entire team the whole race was really active at the front, covering things and making sure I was really safe until those circuits, which were pretty hard with Mitchelton just drilling it on the climbs,” said Winder.

When the second sprint came at 35 kilometres to go on the initial passage through the finish line at Stirling, the first chinks in Spratt’s armour started to show with Winder taking the sprint ahead of the Australian champion. That put Winder one second closer to the lead.

Ella Harris (Canyon-SRAM), scooped up the Queen of the Mountain points from the category 3 Kywarra climb at 17 kilometres to go and then another attack escaped with 12km to race. Leigh-Ann Ganzar (Rally Cycling) impressively stretched the gap to more than 50 seconds. It wasn’t enough though; with the break shut down at less than two kilometres to go as the teams of the top overall riders all upped the pace as the finish line approached.

Now Spratt was isolated and out of position while, with the help of teammate Taylor Wiles, Winder set herself up perfectly for the uphill sprint to the line in Stirling.

The ten-second bonus that came with Winder’s first place on the 109 kilometre stage meant she comfortably stepped into the ochre jersey, particularly as Spratt was in tenth so didn’t get any bonuses on the finish line.

Lippert’s second place put her equal with Spratt at seven seconds down.

In the other classifications, Lippert held onto the Best Young Rider and Queen of the Mountain titles, while Ganzar’s late break meant she was named the Most Competitive Rider.

Results :
1 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo 2:51:16
2 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb
3 Lauren Stephens (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
4 Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer
5 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Rally Cycling
6 Anastasiia Chursina (Slo) Ale BTC Ljubljana
7 Ella Harris (NZl) Canyon-Sram
8 Shara Gillow (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
9 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
10 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
11 Krista Doebel-Hickok (USA) Rally Cycling
12 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb
13 Urska Pintar (Slo) Ale BTC Ljubljana
14 Jenna Natasha Merrick (NZl) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
15 Arlenis Sierra Canadilla (Cub) Astana Women’s Team
16 Sarah Gigante (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
17 Katia Ragusa (Ita) Astana Women’s Team
18 Juliette Labous (Fra) Team Sunweb
19 Elizabeth Stannard (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
20 Andrea Ramirez Fregoso (Mex) Agolico BMC
21 Ruby Roseman Gannon (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
22 Jessica Pratt (Aus) Canyon-Sram
23 Marcela Elizabeth Prieto Castaneda (Mex) Agolico BMC
24 Taryn Heather (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
25 Tayler Wiles (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:11
26 Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:00:13
27 Emily Herfoss (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer
28 Rushlee Buchanan (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:00:18
29 Jaime Gunning (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing 0:00:20
30 Marketa Hajkova (Cze) BePink 0:00:22
31 Victorie Guilman (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:00:31
32 Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:42
33 Anna Louise Henderson (GBr) Team Sunweb 0:00:55
34 Leigh-Ann Ganzar (USA) Rally Cycling
35 Jenelle Crooks (NZl) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 0:01:58
36 Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:03:20
37 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Canyon-Sram 0:03:32
38 Brodie Chapman (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:03:49
39 Grace Brown (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
40 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale BTC Ljubljana 0:03:59
41 Madeline Wright (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:06:23
42 Bree Wilson (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer
43 Gracie Elvin (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
44 Ariadna Gutierrez Arzaluz (Mex) Agolico BMC 0:07:17
45 Tanja Erath (Ger) Canyon-Sram 0:10:10
46 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-Sram
47 Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
48 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) BePink
49 Ella Bloor (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
50 Heidi Franz (USA) Rally Cycling
51 Sharlotte Lucas (NZl) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
52 Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
53 Anna Trevisi (Ita) Ale BTC Ljubljana
54 Maelle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
55 Nicole Frain (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
56 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:26
57 Anna Plichta (Pol) Trek-Segafredo
58 Lotta Hentalla (Fin) Trek-Segafredo
59 Ally Wollaston (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:13:43
60 Nicole Shields (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team
61 Jessie Hodges (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team
62 Nina Kessler (Ned) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 0:14:25
63 Alexis Ryan (USA) Canyon-Sram
64 Racquel Sheath (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team
65 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale BTC Ljubljana
66 Lizbeth Yarely Salazar Vazquez (Mex) Astana Women’s Team
67 Jade Wiel (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
68 Jennifer Morales Milanes (CRc) Agolico BMC
69 Simona Frapporti (Ita) BePink
70 Maryna Ivaniuk (Ukr) Astana Women’s Team
71 Denisse Ahumada Riquelme (Chi) Agolico BMC
72 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) BePink
73 Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
74 Jessica Allen (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
75 Josie Talbot (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
76 Francesca Pattaro (Ita) Astana Women’s Team
77 Pfeiffer Zara Georgi (GBr) Team Sunweb
78 Mieke Docx (Bel) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
79 Marike de Groot Van Witzenburg (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
80 Georgia Williams (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
81 Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
82 Erica Clevenger (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
83 Sara Poidevin (Can) Rally Cycling
84 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Melissa Van Neck (Cze) BePink

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo 9:12:26
2 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:00:07
3 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
4 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Rally Cycling 0:00:30
5 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb 0:00:33
6 Peta Mullens (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:00:34
7 Lauren Stephens (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
8 Juliette Labous (Fra) Team Sunweb 0:00:36
9 Shara Gillow (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:00:37
10 Ella Harris (NZl) Canyon-Sram
11 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
12 Anastasiia Chursina (Slo) Ale BTC Ljubljana 0:00:38
13 Arlenis Sierra Canadilla (Cub) Astana Women’s Team 0:00:43
14 Ruby Roseman Gannon (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia
15 Jenna Natasha Merrick (NZl) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
16 Marcela Elizabeth Prieto Castaneda (Mex) Agolico BMC
17 Katia Ragusa (Ita) Astana Women’s Team
18 Krista Doebel-Hickok (USA) Rally Cycling
19 Andrea Ramirez Fregoso (Mex) Agolico BMC
20 Taryn Heather (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
21 Urska Pintar (Slo) Ale BTC Ljubljana
22 Sarah Gigante (Aus) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
23 Jessica Pratt (Aus) Canyon-Sram
24 Elizabeth Stannard (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
25 Jaime Gunning (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing 0:00:52
26 Tayler Wiles (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:54
27 Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:00:56
28 Emily Herfoss (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer
29 Rushlee Buchanan (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:01:01
30 Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:20
31 Jenelle Crooks (NZl) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 0:02:41
32 Grace Brown (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:04:10
33 Brodie Chapman (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:04:29
34 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale BTC Ljubljana 0:04:42
35 Marketa Hajkova (Cze) BePink 0:05:29
36 Victorie Guilman (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:05:38
37 Anna Louise Henderson (GBr) Team Sunweb 0:05:59
38 Leigh-Ann Ganzar (USA) Rally Cycling 0:06:02
39 Bree Wilson (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:07:06
40 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Canyon-Sram 0:08:37
41 Matilda Raynolds (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing 0:10:49
42 Sharlotte Lucas (NZl) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank 0:10:53
43 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-Sram
44 Gracie Elvin (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:11:27
45 Madeline Wright (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:11:30
46 Ariadna Gutierrez Arzaluz (Mex) Agolico BMC 0:12:24
47 Tanja Erath (Ger) Canyon-Sram 0:15:15
48 Maelle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:15:16
49 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) BePink 0:15:17
50 Ella Bloor (Aus) Specialized Women’s Racing
51 Heidi Franz (USA) Rally Cycling
52 Lotta Hentalla (Fin) Trek-Segafredo 0:15:25
53 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:15:33
54 Nicole Frain (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia 0:17:24
55 Jessie Hodges (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:18:48
56 Nicole Shields (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:18:50
57 Anna Trevisi (Ita) Ale BTC Ljubljana 0:19:01
58 Anna Plichta (Pol) Trek-Segafredo 0:19:02
59 Alexis Ryan (USA) Canyon-Sram 0:19:30
60 Nina Kessler (Ned) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
61 Simona Frapporti (Ita) BePink 0:19:32
62 Denisse Ahumada Riquelme (Chi) Agolico BMC
63 Racquel Sheath (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team
64 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale BTC Ljubljana
65 Mieke Docx (Bel) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
66 Jade Wiel (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
67 Georgia Williams (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
68 Jessica Allen (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
69 Pfeiffer Zara Georgi (GBr) Team Sunweb
70 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Sunweb
71 Justine Barrow (Aus) Roxsolt Attaquer 0:21:34
72 Georgia Whitehouse (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia 0:23:20
73 Ally Wollaston (NZl) Vantage New Zealand National Team 0:23:54
74 Sophie Edwards (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia 0:24:05
75 Josie Talbot (Aus) Team UniSA-Australia 0:24:36
76 Lizbeth Yarely Salazar Vazquez (Mex) Astana Women’s Team
77 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) BePink
78 Maryna Ivaniuk (Ukr) Astana Women’s Team 0:26:12
79 Marike de Groot Van Witzenburg (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:27:04
80 Francesca Pattaro (Ita) Astana Women’s Team 0:28:19
81 Sara Poidevin (Can) Rally Cycling 0:28:31
82 Erica Clevenger (USA) Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
83 Jennifer Morales Milanes (CRc) Agolico BMC 0:29:21
84 Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport 0:30:52